In a process known as “intubation,” an endotracheal tube is inserted into a patient's airway passage to facilitate breathing during certain medical procedures. To avoid damaging the airway passage while inserting the endotracheal tube, medical professionals generally use a laryngoscope to open and view the airway passage and to secure the patient's tongue to one side of the mouth. A typical laryngoscope includes a rigid, curved structure with a smooth tip that engages the tissue of the patient's tongue and airway passage. Laryngoscopes often also include a guide surface for directing the endotracheal tube as it is inserted into the airway passage.
Even with the use of a laryngoscope, medical professionals often damage a patient's airway passage when inserting the endotracheal tube. The reasons that medical professionals damage the airway passage center is their inability to monitor the laryngoscope and endotracheal tube as it is being inserted. To reduce the risk to patients, several modified laryngoscopes have been made. These laryngoscopes, however, are not completely satisfactory. Certain devices, for example, require two people for proper operation—a first person to insert a fiber optic or camera device into the patient's airway and a second person to operate the laryngoscope and insert the endotracheal tube.
Other systems include an integrated laryngoscope and imaging device. These systems generally come in two forms: those with integrated viewing devices and those without integrated viewing devices. Laryngoscopes with the integrated viewing device generally include a small screen attached directly to the handle of the laryngoscope. A medical professional can insert the laryngoscope into the patient's airway passage so that the imaging device captures a corresponding image thereof. The medical professional can then view the airway passage and guide the endotracheal tube to its proper location therein. By having the viewing screen attached directly to the laryngoscope, the medical professional is not forced to shift his field of vision away from the patient to monitor the insertion of the tube.
The laryngoscope with the non-integrated viewing device operates in much the same way as the laryngoscope with the integrated viewing device. The primary difference being that the laryngoscope with the non-integrated viewing device transmits the image of the airway passage to a remote viewing device such as a video monitor. The medical professional can then view the insertion of the endotracheal tube on the remote viewing device.
Although the laryngoscope with the integrated camera system contains some improvements over the basic laryngoscope, these systems are not always satisfactory. For example, in present systems, the view from the laryngoscope's camera becomes blocked as the endotracheal tube passes the end of the laryngoscope. Unfortunately, when the camera's view is blocked, the health care professional is “blind” and prone to damaging the patient's airway passage. Accordingly, a system and method are needed to address the above-described problems as well as other problems with existing laryngoscope technology.